Things every New Zenner needs to know

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sermonzone

New Zen Cart users get easily frustrated. They often do not know how to find answers to their questions and if they stumble onto the right answer they don't realize it's the right answer. The recent 'reboot' for the forum so closely on the heels of the upgrade to 1.3 seems to have made things worse.

I am considering writing a "Getting Started" style document that focuses on templates, overrides, colors, text, images and the like. Perhaps a reasonable title will be "Top 10 Questions asked by New Zenners" or "10 things every New Zenner should know but doesn't know where to find."

I would like to hear from New Zenners about this project. What did you have the most trouble with? What documents did you feel were lacking? What were the top problems and questions you had? -- Things like that.

Part of the rationale for this project is that as users can perform more tasks without having to post a thread like "I am such a newb and have no idea what I am doing" it will free the Devs for more time in core upgrades. Hopefully, users that are more successful at the beginning will press on and have a viable online business and donate back to Zen Cart.

I will be away from the forum for a few days (niece's wedding) this weekend. Further, I don't plan to reply to every post. This is a place to collect feedback from new users.

If more experienced users post, perhaps you could list the mistakes you most often see.

The final location for the project is uncertain. In many ways, it will be a duplicate of material in the FAQ and Wiki. However, much of that material needs to be updated and New Zenners seem to not read it or not understand it. I will continue to try to coordinate this with the Devs so that it benefits the most in the community.

Please presume a successful install of ZenCart 1.3+. I would like to focus on customizations issues that every new users is likely to experience.

Feel free to PM with info you would rather not be in the forum.

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This looks like a fantastic idea. Is it still in progress? Has it lead to helpful documentation other than the FAQ and Wiki? If so I'd love to get that info. I think that while there may be 'common areas' where many new ZC users experience difficulty with the learning curve, it's probably fair to say that the background of the new ZC user will affect what they struggle with or find easier. E.G. I have an intermediate level knowledge of XHTML/CSS so presentation edits were'nt that difficult. The overide system on the other hand took a little getting used to - and finding the correct files. A agree with a post on this where the person pointed to the bewildering structure and array of folders, files, etc. Stunning piece of work though Zen Cart is...the developers are really really really clever folks. I wish I could get more store finished more quickly and starting kicking back to them. Good topic :-)

Most of this material can be found here:
www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?category=16

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Originally Posted by clydejones

Most of this material can be found here:
www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?category=16

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Clyde,

I've checked the link above and it's very helpful info. I'm still trying to
get my head around it all. You can do those things piece-meal, but I
think it would be very helpful to new users to have an overview of the
relationships between the files....eg, I didn't realize the php loaded every
css in the folder regardless of the name.....I thought they were linked as
in an html page to a certain css.

Also a "Yellow Brick Road" , "step-by-step, what to do first, where do we go from here now that it's installed" is what I thought the "Things every New Zenner needs to know" project was about....there have been a lot of suggestions and questions since it was first started 7/06, but haven't heard
how it's coming.....maybe an update would be helpful.

In the meantime, I'm printing out the pdf, faqs, Wiki info, etc so I can better
understand the overall structure. I'm hoping it will suddenly gel, the clouds
will part, and bright sunshine will beam down, and I'll hear the Halleleujah Chorus like when I finally understood the file system on my PC.

"Never give up, never give up...." Winston Churchill :wink2:

The project began with the release of version 1.3 and we're now at 1.3.7 in just a little over 6 months so keeping the documentation equal to the changes becomes a challenge.

The basics of creating your ZC "shop" remain the same though.

install the distribution both on your server and PC.
come up with an idea of how you want your site to look like.
create a template to get that look.
add and activate that template to your "shop"
create the override directories matching the name of your template.
edit the stylesheet and other files to meet the goal of your envisioned site.

The more you get into the customizing process the easier it gets and, yes, the light bulb will go on.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clydejones

The project began with the release of version 1.3 and we're now at 1.3.7 in just a little over 6 months so keeping the documentation equal to the changes becomes a challenge.

The basics of creating your ZC "shop" remain the same though.

install the distribution both on your server and PC.
come up with an idea of how you want your site to look like.
create a template to get that look.
add and activate that template to your "shop"
create the override directories matching the name of your template.
edit the stylesheet and other files to meet the goal of your envisioned site.

The more you get into the customizing process the easier it gets and, yes, the light bulb will go on.

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Thanks for the basics....:D.....hope the details will follow soon.
I know it's time consuming (the project) and time is probably what I have least of (you, too, I bet).....but I appreciate the info and your time.

Gunga Zen
(aka Cal)

[FONT=Times New Roman]Clyde,[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman]I feel that what you have done, what you are doing and how you are consisting redirecting us back to FAQ and the tutorials for answers… is terrific!!!!![/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman]Those do seem to answer the most the questions about setting up a site and programming changes.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman]What about once a site is up? Is there documentation available to help understand how ZEN-Cart works and how one actually operates a Shopping Cart? Is there any Step by Step operating procedures? Again, any help on using a Zen-Cart shopping cart.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman]Some questions I have are:[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman]a. What e-mails will I get that are generated by the program (when a customer registers or places an order)? What activates them. What they mean. What do I do with them. etc.[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman]b. Handling New Customers… What tells me someone is registered. How do I look at the [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]Customer data. Can the Customer data be transferred to a stand-alone data base or is there now a way to print off this data? etc. [/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman]c. Processing Orders…. How do I know I got an order? What do I do next? How and what do I change in my ZC program as I process an order? [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]etc.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]d. What about creating a Newsletter? How to generate a newsletter. How to send. etc. [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman]Clyde, you are helping the programming and setting up a shopping cart and that is very good!!! But, what about us trying to operate our sight once it is set up?[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman]Since I'm new to this.... If all this somewhere already? Please tell me where. [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman]THANK YOU VERY MUCH![/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]Russssssssssssssssssss[/FONT]

First go to admin -> configuration -> e-mail options and make sure you enable the options to receive copies of e-mails.

E-mails are generated/activated automatically by Zen Cart.

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a. What e-mails will I get that are generated by the program (when a customer registers or places an order)? What activates them. What they mean. What do I do with them. etc.

b. Handling New Customers… What tells me someone is registered. How do I look at the Customer data. Can the Customer data be transferred to a stand-alone data base or is there now a way to print off this data? etc.

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If you have configured your e-mail options correctly, you will receive a confirmation e-mail of new registrations.
Depending on what the customer was doing at the time the e-mail was generated, they mean someone created an account or placed an order.

After reading the e-mail you can do whatever you want with them.

Go to admin -> customer -> customers you will be presented with a list of customers which you can edit, delete, or send an e-mail.

You can use phpmyadmin to generate the customer data and then put it into a standalone database.

At present you cannot print the customer data but that may change when the admin portion of Zen Cart is re-written.

Quote:

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c. Processing Orders…. How do I know I got an order? What do I do next? How and what do I change in my ZC program as I process an order? etc.

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If you have configured your e-mail options correctly, you will receive an order confirmation e-mail.
Fill the order and send it to the customer.
go to admin -> customers -> orders you will be presented with a list of orders which you can edit as necessary.

Quote:

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d. What about creating a Newsletter? How to generate a newsletter. How to send. etc.

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Go to admin -> tools -> newsletter and product notification manager
click the new newsletter button
create your content
click the save button and follow the instructions from there.
The newsletter is generated and e-mailed automatically.

Hi Clyde,

This thread and the forums in general have been extremely beneficial in helping me customize the cart for our purpose and I am greatful for that.

My great concern now that we are on the cusp of going live to the public is that I have no idea of how to determine which countries can do business with me and/or how to control this. This hardly seems intuitive and yet remains largely undocumented.

For instance, does eliminating a country from the country drop down menu mean you can't do business with them or does leaving the country in the list mean you can?

Or, are all users able to create accounts but only users from established tax and/or shipping zones able to make purchases? Seems to be a lot of nuance here and not much clarity.

How is the glossary coming along? Seems that my search terms are not bringing me answers to questions like the above.

As an example of what answers I need (although this could be generalized for others), I have a store based in Orange County, California in the US. I want to do business only in the US and Great Britain. I need seperate tax rates for Orange County and the rest of California, no tax for the rest of the US, and VAT tax for GB. Having not removed any countries from that pulldown at this time, what prevents a Canadian customer, a German customer or even someone from, say, an Asian country from buying from me when I am not attempting to sell to them?

A How-To for a scenario like this would go a long way in expediting this aspect of configuring Zen Cart. I believe it would move many of us from haphazard "Trial and Error" to real understanding.

Regards,

Mark Harrison

You can create shipping zones for the countries you will do business with. Then when someone places an order but the shipping address in not within one of the shipping zones you create, you can create a message (I believe there is a default) to the effect that you don't ship to that country.

I think you can also set restrictions in the payment modules.

You can get more information shipping and payment options here:

www.zen-cart.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=18


Try here for the California sales tax:

http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46091

I'm not sure why, if you are in the US, you would add VAT to your orders.

There is a glossary in the Tutorials/FAQ section.

Clyde,

I owe you a big thank you… and an apology. Thank you for taking the time to give answers to my questions on operating a shopping cart after one is established. It is helpful and I’m sure others needed this help, too!

My apology is for indicating that I wanted you to take the time to answer those questions on this thread! I thought this tread was for gathering items for writing a New Zenners Help Guide.

My putting the questioning forth was to make sure that this area was covered in the part of the documentation that covers “How it works”, in addition to “How it looks”.

Russsssssssssss

I don't konw if this is where to post this, but here it is. Perhaps something like this can be put in the New Zenner's Help Guide?

I had asked the question about emails generated after the shopping cart was up and running. Don’t know if this will help, but on my site (which has SSL), here’s what I found.

There are four (4) types of e-mails generated by the ZEN-Cart WEB Site.

1. Subject: [CREATE ACCOUNT] Welcome to “My WEB Site”
2. Subject: Message from “My WEB Site”
3. Subject: [NEW ORDER] Order Confirmation No. xx
4. Subject: [EXTRA CC ORDER info] #xx


E-Mail #1 and #2 has to do with Customer’s Registrations and Questions:

1. [CREATE ACCOUNT] is simply a copy of the e-mail sent to the Customer when they
Registered and created a password.

a. This e-mail can be ignored and deleted, if you’d like.
b. If the details on any customer is needed… Go to“My WEB Site”– Admin. Login and move cursor to (green strip) “Customers” (DO NOT CLICK HERE. A drop down menu will appear), then click on “customers” in the drop down menu.
c. What you will then see is a list of all the customers that have registered.
d. To view a specific customer, click on the (i) in the Action Column and then click on [edit] in the right hand box. The Details, address, etc. will appear.
e. To go back to the Customer List, click on [cancel] in the lower right corner or [Back] in the upper right hand corner.
f. At this point, if desired, other customer’s information can be selected (Repeat steps D & E)
g. When done… Click on [Logoff] on the upper right (black strip)

2. Message from “My WEB Site”-- This is where someone who is looking at the WEB Site and decided to send you an e-mail question or comment thru the WEB Site (vs using your E-Mail Address.

a. This e-mail should be answered and/or dealt with!
b. When done, it could probably be moved into a “Customers” keep folder.

E-Mail #3 and #4 has to do with Customer’s Orders:

3. [NEW ORDER] Order Confirmation No. xx -- This a copy of an e-mail that was sent to the customer after they placed an order.

a. Keeping the e-mail in the “in folder” is not needed. However it should probably be moved into the “Orders” folder for future reference or deleted if one is comfortable with that.
b. Make note of the Order Number (No. xx). This No. xx is the order number assigned by the ZenCart program.
c. The Order Number (No. xx) will be needed to match up to a follow-up email (Item 4) that will be sent by the program (SSL Secure Certification) and will have as the subject: [EXTRA CC ORDER info] #xx.
d. This e-mail “[EXTRA CC ORDER info] #xx” will have the middle VISA or Mastercharge Credit Card numbers that are missing from the Customer’s Order. (This is what provides the security to the Customer CC info).
e. Print a copy and move this e-mail to the “Orders” folder. This copy will later be attached to the Customer’s Order (These CC Numbers are needed to complete the charges).
f. To ready the Order to print… Go to “My WEB Site” – Admin. Login and move cursor to (green strip) “Customers” (DO NOT CLICK HERE…. A drop down menu will appear), then click on “Orders” in the drop down menu.
g. What you will then see is a list of all the Orders from customers.
h. To view a specific customer, click on the (e) in the Action Column.
i. The Details of the Order will appear. Note the Customer’s info is there, the date ordered, Items ordered, Prices along with the first and last part of the Credit Card numbers, as well as the Expiration Date.
j. One way to print the order is by clicking on the “Print Symbol” in the upper right hand corner of the Gray WEB band. (After printing, attach a copy of the e-mail “[EXTRA CC ORDER info] #xx” to the Printed Order to have the missing info available.
k. Some may do better by making use of the [Invoice] and [Packing Slip] feature for this step.
l. To go back to the Order List, click on [Orders] in the lower right corner or [Back] at the top right of the page.
m. At this point another Order can be selected (Repeat steps f thru k)
n. If done… Click on [Logoff] on the upper right (black strip)


Please keep in mind, this is how my site is set up and YOUR’s may be different! Not being a tech writer, I present this only as a help in understanding the process and I know of no where that this information is written. The details may not be exact and I’m sure the other options are probably many more than what I have here (keep in mind that I too am a newbee).

Russssssssssssssssss

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cmcgaugh

Clyde,

I've checked the link above and it's very helpful info. I'm still trying to
get my head around it all. You can do those things piece-meal, but I
think it would be very helpful to new users to have an overview of the
relationships between the files....eg, I didn't realize the php loaded every
css in the folder regardless of the name.....I thought they were linked as
in an html page to a certain css.

Also a "Yellow Brick Road" , "step-by-step, what to do first, where do we go from here now that it's installed" is what I thought the "Things every New Zenner needs to know" project was about....there have been a lot of suggestions and questions since it was first started 7/06, but haven't heard
how it's coming.....maybe an update would be helpful.

In the meantime, I'm printing out the pdf, faqs, Wiki info, etc so I can better
understand the overall structure. I'm hoping it will suddenly gel, the clouds
will part, and bright sunshine will beam down, and I'll hear the Halleleujah Chorus like when I finally understood the file system on my PC.

"Never give up, never give up...." Winston Churchill :wink2:

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"Yellow Brick Road" , "step-by-step, what to do first, where do we go from here now that it's installed"
Could not have said it better myself.... that is exactly what I'm looking for and can't seem to find. Its broken into SOME step by step instructions, but I can't find a total step by step and I'm so afraid I'll miss something!!:down:
This is my 3rd store (1st using ZenCart), but I had help with the other 2 and I'm so afriad I'll leave something out or forget to edit somewhere or something. I also remember from the other stores (used OsCommerce) that some things need to be done in a certain order to work properly. Not sure if this is the same with Zen or not, but guess I'll be finding out. I know I can edit the header before I edit the sales tax info....stuff like that have nothing to really do with eachother, but what I'm looking for is step by step so that I don't FORGET to edit the sales tax info OR the header (that would be hard to miss since its visible, but hopefully you get what I mean!) :unsure:
Is there ONE place (link/page...) that has it all ?:smile:
Thanks in advance,
Lalla
LilleyPadGifts

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LilleyPadGifts

"Yellow Brick Road" , "step-by-step, what to do first, where do we go from here now that it's installed"
Could not have said it better myself.... that is exactly what I'm looking for and can't seem to find. ...

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I still haven't found one either, but here's what I'm doing in the mean time
(post-installation):

• Printed the FAQs & PDF manual.....easier to find things (IMHO) than
  the PDF.
• finally figured out the override system (with the help of several
  patient posts from Merlin & others), and by reading the info in the FAQs
  and at the Wiki.....really pretty easy.
• Created a custom template using another template with my css
  and graphics.....haven't tried modifying the .tpl files yet.
• Used CraftZombie's No Login files (coded by PaulM)
  http://craftzombie.com/zencart/No_Ac...-dec-29-06.zip
• am replacing categories & products, removing sideboxes,
  banners, etc in a demo cart rather than start with an empty cart....
  there are so many bells & whistles in Zen Cart!

I'm not sure how others have gone about it.....maybe if they just
put what they did (basically) & in what order it would be sufficient to
get a new user off in the right direction.

E.g. "After installing ZenCart I did this, then that, etc...." There may be such a thread already(?)
If there isn't one, I'll start it off if no one else does. :smile:

Thanks for that info!
I think my main concern here is that I get different answer from different people... not on this board, but other posts. I know that I'm not doing it correctly in advance for upgrades, but when I ask if I should have the files in a my_template folder, I'm told no, just use the folder they are in. Its very confusing!
I'm asked now how to protect my dirs and files, the response I got to that was ... post a url, I was hesitant because obviously I just told everyone that my files aren't protected, so now they want to know how to get to them? I posted the URL, but now wondering if I should have.

Oh it boggles the mind! :wacko:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LilleyPadGifts

Thanks for that info!
I think my main concern here is that I get different answer from different people... not on this board, but other posts. I know that I'm not doing it correctly in advance for upgrades, but when I ask if I should have the files in a my_template folder, I'm told no, just use the folder they are in. Its very confusing!
I'm asked now how to protect my dirs and files, the response I got to that was ... post a url, I was hesitant because obviously I just told everyone that my files aren't protected, so now they want to know how to get to them? I posted the URL, but now wondering if I should have.

Oh it boggles the mind! :wacko:

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I've been boggled, too....inhale...exhale, inhale...exhale....it will come to you.
Find a quiet spot....I got a lot done over the weekend in the desert.

Quote:

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...when I ask if I should have the files in a my_template folder....

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Can you send me the thread so I can see what you
asked and the reply?

re: unprotected files........change the permissions so the folder is not
readable(?) Did you see this info on security in the FAQs?
https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/i...hp?category=14

Hang in there,
:wink2:

http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showth...t=56121&page=2


hope that works, I still think I should have moved the files to a different dir so that I could edit them and not be messing with the original. I made a backup, but still....whats the point of the my_template folder it said to create?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LilleyPadGifts

http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showth...t=56121&page=2


....what's the point of the my_template folder it said to create?

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If you downloaded the "BlueStrip" template..... copy it to the /includes/templates
folder... modify the graphics or css and rename it "LilleyPads".

If you go to Admin > Tools > Template Selection you will still see "BlueStrip" even though the template folder is named LilleyPads, untill you change the name in the template_info.php to "LilleyPads"......note it will tell you what folder it's in, too.

If you want to use the overrides system then as you make changes to the various php files save them in folders
named "LilleyPads" ......see the overrides system info in the FAQs......where ever there
is a folder called "classic", create a folder next to it called "LilleyPads"
since that's the name of your selected template and Zencart looks for the
phps in folders named the same as the selected template....if it doesn't find
your folder, it uses the default phps in classic.


Clear as mud? It will "click" if it hasn't already. Let me know if
that helped or was too complicated. :wink2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clydejones

the database files are installed when zen cart is installed.

check the wiki and the tutorials along with searching the forum. Lots of information in these areas.

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Okay, I have a REALLY simple question which I have been unable to find the answer to in any forum, wiki, walkthru or guide, including all the ones mentioned several times in this thread (I just sifted through all of it...lot of good info).

I have seen in numerous places to "be sure you back up your database" before making some potentially disastrous update. And your response to the guy asking about the database files before was what is quoted above (back on page 18 if you need a refresh).

Can anyone explain or point me to where it has already been explained HOW to backup your database? I have seen "back up your database from the admin panel", but I am missing something (besides most of my original braincells...) if it's in there. I know it's not just "copy all the files on your server somewhere safe", though that wouldn't hurt, of course.

Thanks for all the info I've gathered here since deciding to do this! :D

Instructions for backing up your database can be found here:

www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?article=103


The simpler way is to download and install the backup contribution available in the downloads section:

Backup MYSQL Plugin

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clydejones

Instructions for backing up your database can be found here:

www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?article=103


The simpler way is to download and install the backup contribution available in the downloads section:

Backup MYSQL Plugin

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Figured it was something dumb I was doing "backup database" didn't find that as a search string.

Thanks!

-James

One of the most important things the new user needs to know is that there is a printed manual now available here.

It's probably already been said before but what would be really helpful is some kind of diagram or screenshot that clearly points out and states what is what and where to find it. Like in my case, I want to change almost every image on my site but I have no idea what the default images are called, where to find them, or what code to use to insert them. I've been working on my site for probably almost a week now and have only been able to put 2 images in the code. I am at a loss for the rest. Hopefully I'm not alone with the confusion.

Take a look here in the tutorials/FAQ:

What directories contain all the images? (i.e. buttons, icons, images etc.)?

I've successfully tackled Zen Cart and it's taken around a week to do so. Things that have slowed me down:

- Not being conversant with the folder structure.
- Not knowing how to stretch the site layout further.

So many Zen Cart websites look exactly the same. There were some good ones in the old showcase (before I chose to use Zen Cart). That's what I'm after.

I'm considered adept at HTML and CSS. I think maybe some newbies are tackling Zen Cart without these skills. I think you need to state some prerequisites.

I can't imagine learning Zen Cart followed by XHTML and CSS.

Josh,
Josh.biz Web Design.

PS
I'm glad to be working with Zen Cart. It's great.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ryk

One of the most important things the new user needs to know is that there is a printed manual now available here.

---

Thanks Ryk! I just ordered it based on your & Kim's recommendation,
and hope it will make the process a whole lot easier & faster!

:smile:

It's a shame the book costs so much to obtain in the UK. The book looks great but with the cost of printing and delivery to the UK it totals over $80+.

$80 is an odd figure that doesn't really reflect any of the costs of ordering for delivery in the UK. You can pay more or less depending upon your level of patience (aka shipping time) ranging from £194.41 for super mega fast printing and delivery down to just $55.76 for economy. Even express delivery is only $70.89.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nicedreams

It's a shame the book costs so much to obtain in the UK. The book looks great but with the cost of printing and delivery to the UK it totals over $80+.

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Tosh & twaddle! Economy postage is £5.95; book is £24.77. Total =£30.72p = US$60.06

£30 that will save you hours of work at whatever you think your time is worth!

How much did ZenCart cost you? Not a lot in total to get a business up and running is it?

BTW - there's nothing in this for me; I'm promoting it because it is excellent and will save ME hours answering basic questions on the forum!

I am a new Zenner. Aside from the multitude of changes and places to look my biggest problem is probably the dumbest. The database is all set with all the tables. I had one table pre-existing already and it is now part of the database. How do I access my products from that table in the searches. I realize I can add categories and products, but i already have them there in the database and have no way of knowing how to access them.

Thank you for your time

Some of us are good (in fact, some of the others are brilliant!) , and we even have one or two magicians, but as far as I know, not one of us is able to read minds :D - so a more detailed explanation of your existing setup is vital for us to be able to help.

Are you talking about an existing Zencart which you're upgrading (I doubt it, if you are a new Zenner) or are you talking about importing your product info from another cart?

Hi Ryk

Personally I'm rather partial to a bit of mindreading. The fuzziness helps make use of the empty areas in my head where all the brain cells have died off. So...

jsteelethg

Zen Cart has a much more sophisticated product and category structure embedded into its database than most carts professional or custom written. It therefore relies on its own tables for delivering data rather than trying to cope with different structures or missing data fields and so will not be able to read your pre-existing table.

There are however ways of transferring your data across. Firstly you can key it all in by hand using the Admin facilities. I'm guessing that's not going to be your favourite approach.

Secondly you could write a custom routine to convert the data. This can be done (I've done it) but I wouldn't advise it unless you are very familiar with all the relevant datafields Zen Cart's table structure.

Last, but certainly not least, the best approach is probably the use of a bulk upload facility such as Easy Populate. To do this you would export the data in your existing table to a spreadsheet readable format, hammer it into decent shape, and then use Easy Populate to upload it to the relevant Zen Cart tables.

......... :laugh: ...........

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ryk

Tosh & twaddle!

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I heartily agree... the manual should save a lot of questions, headaches,
and high blood pressure if it's as good as you say, and I have no reason to
doubt your review of it. My time is what I have the least of , and I see the
manual as a good investment to save my time.

In fact, I move that a link to it be put on the Zen navbar next to
tutorials/FAQ ......I only became aware of it because of Ryk's post and
link. I'm sure a lot of Zenners are so focused on some problem that
they may not know a printed manual is available.

The more who get it, the faster everyone can get up to speed, and maybe give the dev team more time to dev.

BTW, how large was the first printing? I bet they'll sell quickly as users
become aware that it's available.

Thanks to Goh Koon Hoek, et al for putting it together!

:thumbsup:

Sorry.

I apologise. I hadn't spotted the economy delivery option for the new manual. It cuts £10 off the price. I've ordered my copy today (for £30.72) and can't wait to receive it.

@cmcgaugh

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cmcgaugh

In fact, I move that a link to it be put on the Zen navbar next to
tutorials/FAQ

---

I'm sure that the link at the top of the forum pages will migrate there sooner or later.

Quote:

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BTW, how large was the first printing? I bet they'll sell quickly as users
become aware that it's available.

---

This is printed to order - I've no idea whether that makes the book cheaper or more expensive than printing by conventional methods, but I can see it massively reduces the financial risk/investment necessary.

@nicedreams

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nicedreams

Sorry.

I apologise. I hadn't spotted the economy delivery option for the new manual. It cuts £10 off the price. I've ordered my copy today (for £30.72) and can't wait to receive it.

---

No problem. Lulu doesn't exactly make it easy to figure out the shipping costs and as you say, at first glance, it could be a deterrent ... a couple of good lessons there for your own store - make your shipping transparent and use Zen Cart! :D

Now I know I started this discussion because I think it is a Thing every New Zenner needs to know, but I suggest that any further discussion about the manual is continued on this thread.

I originally had a database set up with one table called "gt_plantlist". In it I have a list of plants, with different fields ie "itemName", "itemHeight", "itemDescription", etc. Then I installed ZenCart and of course it accessed my database and installed it's many tables ( which I gave the prefix "gt_" to match my existing table ), so now I have numerous tables listed as "gt_XXXXXX" as well as my original table "gt_plantlist".

Naturally, in my Category/products list, nothing was listed, so to test ZenCart I set up a Category and added 5 new items ( products ). These were plants I already have in the table gt_plantlist, but as a test I entered them, and now they show up as products. All is well, however I want to avoid having to enter all these plants and their information all over again, but want to access the existing table to, I guess import that information into the table that ZenCart now puts it's products, which for the 5 test items I did, went into several tables, ie "gt_products", "gt_products_descriptions", etc. I am lost as to how to do that.

Also, how do I add extra fields to my description page? It currently only gives the product name, a picture, price and description. I want it to recognize the info in my table that also lists height, hardiness zone, etc.

Thank you so much for replying. Believe me I sifted through a lot of writing and files trying to find the answer to the above question until I stumbled upon you asking new Zenners what their biggest obstacle was, and in a nutshell, as I mention above, it is getting ZenCart to recognize products in a Table that preexisted on the database, in order to not have to re-enter all the information agiain through Admin/Category/Product. Thank You...James Steele

Thank you Kuroi. I'll go the route of re-entering the information through Admin.

That route only offers a view fiel details as name, price, description, photo. Is there a way to add a couple of other fields that help define my product ie Light, Hardiness Zone, etc?

Thank you

Well, I've waded through all 24 pages of this thread - and I've gone through the FAQ - need to peruse through the wiki link.

I've been designing sites for about 4 years - pretty basic html table layouts and using Paypal and building custom carts (none of my customers have large inventories, and none to date needed cc processing).

Well, my loyal customer has got an infusion of money to build her business, is nearly set up w/ authorize.net and I decided that I'd take the leap into learning a shopping cart and settled on zen-cart.

I didn't have any trouble setting it up, I understand the process fairly well - the included modules are wonderful as compared to e-commerce. I still have a glitch w/ authorize.net having the orders go through w/ the test account they gave me, but I'm confident it will work.

I have to say the place that is driving me nuts is the template stuff - I want my own fonts for the header <h1>, etc. - I want white text on a custom dark blue column on the right and a custom header on the same blue at the top and I nice background image that works well on the current site - really, really basic. Oh, and I want my own text on the front page - thought I got it w/ copying it to the main page through one of the admin links, but it didn't show up.

But, I just don't get the css stuff - I so want a step by step guide - someone's tutorial of how to change the default template - to add colors, change fonts and change images - I've read about overrides, I've read about seperate folders, etc. and I just don't get it. I read the one page about copying the tp_header and footer page - got that, but didn't know what to do w/ them and don't really know where to put them once they're finished.

I got burned w/ a mambo site - I pounded through creating a custom template (someone had created a step by step and it was manageable) - I find out mambo released a couple of upgrades, I wasn't careful about what was changing and my template no longer worked.

So, I'm hesistant to leap - I can't find a template that's affordable for my client and personally, I just want to do it myself - I don't need any big deal stuff - I don't need a different look for different pages.

So - there I feel better - I love the product - I am excited to offer it to my customers, but man I wish the template stuff was easier for my old brain to wrap itself around it.

So, does the book that's being offered do this?

Michelle

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mgrunk

But, I just don't get the css stuff - I so want a step by step guide - someone's tutorial of how to change the default template - to add colors, change fonts and change images...

---

Michelle,

Are you unfamiliar with CSS techniques generally or are you saying that you don't understand the use of the Zen Cart stylesheet?

I've just started using Zen Cart to built shopping carts recently. I worked out that Zen Cart has been developed in line with W3C guidelines on web design practices to separate content from style. This means reserving HTML for content and storing all the styling (formatting) information in a single CSS file.

This brings enormous benefits to everyone - browsers, search engines, web designers and clients. I won't explain further here for the sake of time and avoiding repetition elsewhere.

But it does seem to me that if you want to get to grips with Zen Cart, users need to bite the bullet and get learn how CSS works first. Even practise with a few static (brochure) sites beforehand. To learn CSS at the same time as Zen Cart would be a nightmare for most people.

I think it should be stated on the Zen Cart 'packet' that HTML and CSS skills are a pre-requisite for learning Zen Cart.

I started designing websites using HTML and tables for layout. Two years ago I finally switched fully to styling my websites with CSS. It wasn't immediately easy to grasp but once the 'penny dropped' it has made my job infinitely easier and has allowed me to do things I couldn't do in plain HTML.

I would firmly recommend that anyone who wants to use Zen Cart invests in a solid knowledge in HTML (XHTML) and CSS first. They are the fundamental building bricks of web design and without that knowledge, it will be incredibly frustrating experience. It will make things so much easier. I only started working with Zen Cart very recently and because my knowledge of CSS is sound, I have ploughed straight into it without any major problems.

There are now hundreds of web design resource sites for web designers and also lots of very good books.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mgrunk

So, does the book that's being offered do this?

---

I have just received my Zen Cart manual (recently released) and am very pleased with it. I can confirm however that it does not explain CSS and nor should it. CSS is a separate skill area in it's own right and already has plenty of books dedicated to it.

One final thing...

For those who are familiar with CSS skills, I wonder if the Zen Cart stylesheet could be rewritten in a more user-friendly style (especially for beginners) and a commented version explaining what each CSS code refers to would be invaluable. If one already exists please can somebody tell me?

As a Zen Cart beginner it has taken me longer than it should have to work out what CSS code controls what. I had hoped that there might have been a 'crib sheet' for the stylesheet in the new book but I haven't found it.

I might even do this myself.

Any feedback on my comments would be greatly appreciated because I'm very interested to know if this whole CSS issue is commonplace and could be stamped on quite easily. Or has this all been attempted before by somebody else?

Cheers,
Josh.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nicedreams

and also lots of very good books.

---

I can thoroughly recommend "Designing without tables using CSS" from Sitepoint.

Quote:

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I might even do this myself.

Any feedback on my comments would be greatly appreciated because I'm very interested to know if this whole CSS issue is commonplace and could be stamped on quite easily. Or has this all been attempted before by somebody else?

Cheers,
Josh.

---

A commented stylesheet would be extremely useful for the beginners (i.e. all of us who don't yet know it by heart which I think is everyone except kuroi and kobra! :laugh: ), and I imagine efforts have been made before... trouble is, it's likely to be quite a lengthy job.

However, with tools available such as Firefox with the Web Developer Toolkit and other add-ons such as Firebug (excellent) and X-ray (sometimes useful) it is now relatively easy to identify what css class applies to what on screen, and apply changes using the css tools of the Web Developer toolkit without breaking anything.

May I suggests 2 very simple things:
1) a search feature for the download section
2) a search feature for the FAQs section

If it would be possible to do a search for all the downloads based on keywords, and same for the FAQs it would help me a lot. As of now I must search in the forum and then try to find whatever clue I found there in the FAQs ot downloads.

For the downloads as of now I must open and browse all of them onne by one to eventually find what I need.

Most of the information we need is there, we just don't have a search feature to help us find where it is.

The Tutorials/FAQ does have a search feature. It also has Index and Glossary features.

Thanks for the Sitepoint link - I'll go through it.

I have been using CSS - but only to control the look of the print (size, font, color) on a page - not to handle the layout - it's just mindstretching at this point.

I know I have to get up to speed - but, I'm actually migrating everything over to Visual Studio - my hubby is a c++ .net and I do enough db programming, that he thought I'd have an easier time developing in that environment rather than continuing in PHP.

Someone else provided this bit:

To create a very basic custom template (you can build from there), you need:
includes/languages/YOUR_TEMPLATE/english.php
includes/languages/english/YOUR_TEMPLATE/index.php
includes/languages/english/YOUR_TEMPLATE/header.php (to change the logo)
includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/template_info.php
includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/common/tpl_header.php
includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/images/logo.gif
includes/templates/YOUR_TEMPLATE/css/stylesheet.css

That helped some more w/ just what files I need to modify for the most basic changes and where I need to put them to override.

I think some of the confusion is that there are 2 pieces - the stuff that goes in your new template folder - I'm not sure of what all - images (i.e. replacing the logo.gif) and the template_info file - and then the other piece is the overrides that appear throughout the rest of the includes.

Then add to it that it's using css to control the layout - yes, we should be using CSS to do that because it's the standard and as pointed out above, has many benefits.

Again, I'm totally not knocking it - I'm thrilled at the look!

Michelle

Thanks Clyde:

But somehow every time I've been using this search feature it didn't return the information I needed. I just tried again and couldn't find what I needed. So I'll be back again in the forum asking a simple question. If the search was returning me the information I need I wouldn't have had to use the forum that much. I really think it could be improved.

I think that this is on the list of things to do - it may even be w.i.p. - but is naturally of lower priority than development of the cart itself.

And of course, there is the eternal problem of any search on the web - you must be asking the right question! :D

I have a question, and i didn't know where or how else to post the question, somehow on my main page, i have my catagories listed on the bottom like a navigation menu right underneath the pictures in the middle. How do i get rid of it. here's my link

http://kirwindesigns.com/store/

OK I am so new and I am looking for herlp to learn everything. I think there is still to many fourms in this section and most of them should be deleted so it is easier to find some of the help I com eon here to look for:schmoll:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shx_go

OK I am so new and I am looking for herlp to learn everything. I think there is still to many fourms in this section and most of them should be deleted so it is easier to find some of the help I com eon here to look for:schmoll:

---

Every question asked and answered has been of interest and hopefully use to somebody, so I believe that it is the Zen Cart team's policy to leave them all available.

Have you tried looking at the FAQ and the Wiki which presents information in a more digestible form aimed more at people who are unfamiliar with Zen Cart, or have you considered buying the book (there's currently a link top right of the page) that takes a reader through setting up a store in straightforward language?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by shx_go

OK I am so new and I am looking for herlp to learn everything. I think there is still to many fourms in this section and most of them should be deleted so it is easier to find some of the help I com eon here to look for:schmoll:

---

When you use the Search function, it automatically searches ALL the forums unless you go to the Advanced Search where you can limit the range to a specific forum.

Also, the various forums are suitably titled for specific topics, and if you manually enter a forum you can then use the "Search within this forum" option.

I have a question, and i didn't know where or how else to post the question, somehow on my main page, i have my catagories listed on the bottom like a navigation menu right underneath the pictures in the middle. How do i get rid of it. here's my link

http://kirwindesigns.com/store/

Turn them off inthe Admin> Configuration> Layout Settings> Always Show Categories on MainPage

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by atmh

Also I second the explination on attributes, I know zen cart is very powerful and can do a lot of things, but some of the options I just don't understand. Also, how come you make an option name like "color" and give it a whole bunch of options, but then when you go to add an option to a product, you have to select each option name and each option individually, so you can put an option like "extra large" in an option name of "color" or what not... I got it to work and everything, but it's either designed poorly or I don't understand it.

---

Trust me, it's not you! Luckily, there is an absolutely essential contrib to make attributes workable again, and it lives here - one of the most time-saving contribs you'll ever install!

Thanks Kim, That's what i was looking for. any chance you know how to get rid of the nav tab that was underneath it that just has the home link?

Same place - look for breadcrumb.

So i turned off the breadcrumbs for the homepage, but on the homepage i'm still seeing the home link on the bottom right underneath the image in the center box. it actually looks like a banner of some sort.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by divekathster

i'm still seeing the home link on the bottom right underneath the image in the center box.

---

There are no switches to control this, but there are two ways to get rid of it:

1. eidt your tpl_footer.php file to remove (or comment out) the code that generates it
2. add #navSuppWrapper {display:none} to your stylesheet.

Thank you for help, found the file and got rid of it. thanks again. I actually didn't have to comment anything out on the footer page, just added your css addition to my stylesheet. .......eggggcceeelllent.

ok so two more questions, where is the file that contains the wording .. for more information go to the products website on the product listing page. I just want to change the wording but keep the link part and the second quesitons is which part of the css sheet is the bottom part of the catagory box. i've been able to change the top part and almost everything else on the page but can't find that part which is still green or its the .gif file.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by divekathster

where is the file that contains the wording .. for more information go to the products website

---

admin > tools > developer toolkit ... enter the text you need to find in the bottom input field and search All files

Can you tell me how to set shipping for the item?

It's actually two products and you can find them here http://www.clingythingylabels.com/home
We will be selling them for $7.95 a pack. If possible, can you make it an item that get's suggested when you are buying something else? It's a great add on item that we can slip into any order with no additional shipping expense.
SHipping for the these items alone should be $1.50 for one to three packs, $2.50 for 4-12, and $3.50 for 12 -24.
The owner of this site, whose product it is, gave me permission to take any artwork etc. I wanted off her site for our use.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by geovino

Can you tell me how to set shipping for the item?

It's actually two products and you can find them here http://www.clingythingylabels.com/home
We will be selling them for $7.95 a pack. If possible, can you make it an item that get's suggested when you are buying something else? It's a great add on item that we can slip into any order with no additional shipping expense.
SHipping for the these items alone should be $1.50 for one to three packs, $2.50 for 4-12, and $3.50 for 12 -24.
The owner of this site, whose product it is, gave me permission to take any artwork etc. I wanted off her site for our use.

---

This question doesn't really belong in this thread, and should really be in the Shipping & Payment Modules but, if I understand you correctly, you want to have free shipping on this when it's purchased with anything else (use the Cross Sell mod from the downloads for "suggesting" it) and shipping by quantity if bought alone. Are the shipping charges on this item different to your other products, and are you intending just to tell the customer "The total shipping is $xx" ?

If that is the case, and the answer to both questions is yes, then I think the only way to achieve that is by coding.

The logic is straightforward - examine the cart; if a product belongs to a certain group (which you could identify by adding a single letter to the beginning of the item model no) use a specific shipping module and then total up the individual shipping costs for display to the customer as a single shipping amount.

The coding is totally beyond my ability!

I'd like to see the database structure. At least a complete list of tables and fields.

Open your database using phpMyAdmin, navigate to your Zen Cart database, scroll to the bottom of the main page and click data dictionary.

There's also a fair amount of documentation for the database schema.

How to change background colors of side boxes. I am using nightfall template from the download templates given here in the forum and I edited the font style and font color, and sizes but I can't find how to change the background color of sideboxes

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by armie

How to change background colors of side boxes. I am using nightfall template from the download templates given here in the forum and I edited the font style and font color, and sizes but I can't find how to change the background color of sideboxes

---

Find .sideBoxContent in the stylesheet.css

You should be able to change the background color there

Thanks! for the reply. I will do that and let you know the updates.

As you have used Miva Merchant I must ask you if there is a way to import a comma dilimated catalog in Zen similar to Miva, It sure would speed up the process? Also I see alot about templates and customization throughout the forum but most of which is thoroughly confusing. Is there a simple way to create a photoshop PSD file and slice it into the Zen cart I want my end users to see. Maybe even a dreamweaver type wysiwyg editor that would make creating a template easier( less code) for us php novices...

There is an add-on, Easy Populate, that allows you to maintain your product information in a spreadsheet and import/export it in tab delimited files.

You could build a template using a WYSIWYG editor such as Dreamweaver, but you would actually need to know more about Zen Cart and PHP than you would by following the advice in the forum, since you would have to insert all the PHP yourself to call the various Zen Cart functions.

Dicing and slicing Photoshop layouts is a way of working that was normal back in the old table-based layout days, but Zen Cart (happily) has moved beyond that to an XHTML/CSS architecture. That doesn't mean that Photoshop isn't still useful for creating the graphical elements and that slices aren't used any more, but the whole approach is much more surgical and less image heavy than it used to be, with images being placed selectively into containers rather than defining the page structure.

I just received an email offer for "The Comprehensive User Manual for Zen Cart."

But, if it is based on the answers provided in the Zen Cart FAQ's and this Forum then it will be a total waste of money!

After weeks of attempting to find a straight answer I am still puzzled and frustrated. There are just no down to earth, basic intructions for using this shopping cart.

Not once could I find an answer to the simple question of "How do I add a product to the Zen Cart catalog??????" I had Cube Cart up and even found a button in it which says "Add Product" without having to search through hundreds of pages talking about templates, setting up a database, and coding and still did not find an answer.

Is there someone who can provide such basic instructions to new users of Zen Cart? :blink:

Thanks

"The Lord helps those who help themselves."

Have you looked at the documentation that comes with each release in the docs folder?

Also, see sig

The book is not just the FAQ's and Tutorials. It is a complete guide on setting up and running Zen. I have a copy it is worth evey penny. It has saved my lots of time and frustration. Just wish I had bought it when I first put up the site and not 6 months after opening...

--Mitch

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GhostRider2110

The book is not just the FAQ's and Tutorials. It is a complete guide on setting up and running Zen. I have a copy it is worth evey penny. It has saved my lots of time and frustration. Just wish I had bought it when I first put up the site and not 6 months after opening...

--Mitch

---

Definitely worth it!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WHAnderson

I just received an email offer for "The Comprehensive User Manual for Zen Cart."

But, if it is based on the answers provided in the Zen Cart FAQ's and this Forum then it will be a total waste of money!

After weeks of attempting to find a straight answer I am still puzzled and frustrated. There are just no down to earth, basic intructions for using this shopping cart.

Not once could I find an answer to the simple question of "How do I add a product to the Zen Cart catalog??????" I had Cube Cart up and even found a button in it which says "Add Product" without having to search through hundreds of pages talking about templates, setting up a database, and coding and still did not find an answer.

Is there someone who can provide such basic instructions to new users of Zen Cart? :blink:

Thanks

---

login to your admin panel

hover over the word catalog and click Categories / Products

click the new category button

on this screen:
enter the Category Name
categories description
upload an image if desired
enter the sort order
click the save button

place the cursor over the category you just created (so that it is highlighted) and click once

Since you have no products in this category you will have three options

back new category new product

click the new product button

fill in the information on this screen

then click the preview button

on the next screen click the insert button

You now have a category with a product

And funnily enough, these instructions (at least as far down as the rather obvious new product button), are in the tutorials/FAQ section ... looks like someone's god didn't lead them in the right direction (or perhaps the team member didn't follow the leader) :wink2:

I Thank You so much clydejones.

Your true assistance among the barbarians is Greatly Appreciated.

Those are the instructions I have been searching for. I must have kept overlooking them or I was using the wrong search terms. For example, everytime I searched for "add product" I kept getting hundreds of results which pointed to everything from adding things to the Shopping Cart to customizing templates. I never did see these instructions returned on any of my searches or reading in the FAQs or Forums.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ryk

And funnily enough, these instructions (at least as far down as the rather obvious new product button), are in the tutorials/FAQ section ... looks like someone's god didn't lead them in the right direction (or perhaps the team member didn't follow the leader) :wink2:

---

Where? I looked and didn't see anything but one or two lines about adding a new category or subcategory and I must admit I didn't find them very useful.

WHAnderson said

Quote:

---

For example, everytime I searched for "add product" I kept getting hundreds of results which pointed to [not very helpful stuff]

---

One of the hidden problems with searches -- not just in this forum -- is that the search engine is programmed to ignore short words, so your search was actually done only on the word "product" which as you found didn't help you much.

Next time try using a phrase with words of 4 or more letters, in this case something like "adding product category", which may yield results that would have been much more useful to you.

Rob

What am I looking at? That's my question. I have been designing websites for my self and my family years; however, I've never before had an e-commerce site. This will be my first. I am almost done building my website in html, php, dreamweaver and photoshop / image ready. It is exactly the way I want it, with my items for sale listed in galleries.

In this forum, I have not been able to find what to do next? I created a "Click to Buy" image (under each of my items for sale), but this link doesn't actually link to anything. I don't know what to do next to make sure my customers can actually purchase my art (which is what I am selling). I am in the process of signing up for Paypal Website Standard (to collect money via credit card with no monthly fees). I know that it can integrate with zen cart somehow. I don't really even know what zen cart is or if I need it. I was told I need a "shopping cart" to sell my photography. Please help!

When I look at my current site: http://www.artbymirdonamy.com/index.php it looks like someone else's store (or something else). I want to put my index.php and all my includes up instead, but somehow make my art connect to zen cart for purchase. Does this make any sense? Help!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mirdonamy

What am I looking at?

---

I guess my # 1 question is: How do I integrate zen cart into my already-built, yet inactive, website?

I don't want to modify zen cart to look like my site. I want to add zen cart into my site's template. All of the info I see in the FAQ seems to be how to edit/modify the bits and pieces of zen cart. I am baffled by how to do this. I don't know css (other than how to use the dreamweaver css), but I know a little php. I mostly design in photoshop, chop up in image ready, tweak in dreamweaver and upload. It's all very graphical, yes. I am so new to this css world.

Is there an FAQ or link to learn how to make zencart work with my current site? I have images for sale (photos) but no way for customers to buy them. Maybe my question is, "what is zen cart and why do I need it?" I was told I need a shopping cart to sell my art, that's all I know. Help!

Sad to say, you went about the process of getting your art out for sale backwards. E-commerce is a different animal from personal websites, and the database-driven programming necessary to run a business site just doesn't fit into the image-structured individual page approach. As Kuroi mentioned above (post 269), you would need to know more about the workings of Zen Cart (or any shopping cart) to fit its pieces into your template structure than to modify ZC to look like your template.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gjh42

You would need to know more about the workings of Zen Cart (or any shopping cart) to fit its pieces into your template structure than to modify ZC to look like your template.

---

I don't really understand what you mean by this sentence. Are you saying that I cannot put zen cart into my website or that I just have a lot of learning to do about zen cart before I'll understand HOW to put it into my page? Do you also mean (by your last line) that I cannot make ZC look like my template or that I can? I am so sorry... I am very confused! I appreciate your help.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gjh42

E-commerce is a different animal from personal websites, and the database-driven programming necessary to run a business site just doesn't fit into the image-structured individual page approach.

---

My current site (not the one with my art for sale, but my personal home page) is database driven and it's all image oriented. www.mirdonamy.com if you want to see. I do all my updates using ems mysql manager. The entire template was created by me in photoshop, then chopped up using image ready and put into includes using PHP... then I hooked up mysql coding to make it log and pull everything from my database (many different tables exist). So, I don't really follow what you are saying... would you mind clarifying for me?

Frames and Zen Cart don't mix well with each other. This would also be a problem if your "art for sale" site will be using frames as your other site does.

I'm sorry, I didn't get from your original post that you were experienced in PHP/mysql development. It sounds like you should have the skills to seamlessly connect a ZC shop with your current site (blogs are not a native feature of ZC); but it would be a major job to "inject" bits of ZC into/throughout your current site. It would be a relatively straightforward (though lengthy) job to build a new ZC template to match your current one. The layout of functional parts can be rearranged without going deep into the fundamental coding.

Actually, on studying your current site, it would not be difficult at all to achieve the same look with ZC. I have reworked my own site to have no top header, with all header/nav functions in the left sidebar and content on the right.
You would want to replace the blog and calendar frames in the sidebar with cart navigation boxes for the commercial side. There are some css tricks to get background images for dynamic content like boxes that change size based on content, but they won't be hard to get for one who has mastered databases ;)

Thank you from a new Zenner. I have been at it for a month and am finally getting the cart fixed up pretty well. I still am not clear on the override system, and I tried to install a language pak... and crashed the cart.

I figured out how to include a Download via the Attribute system. It was more luck than anything else, and I didn't write it down, so I had to go through the trial-and-error technique again, and finally I wrote down the steps, in great detail, for myself and my business partner.

Here is what I wrote, in case it helps you. Please feel free to use it if you want to:

Okay... I'm gonna write down what I'm doing this time... save this...
we may never figure it out again.

First: In Option Values, make a name for each file you want to download.

It will be associated with an Option Name.

The Option Name is in the first drop down box, Option Value in the
second.

If there is not a suitable Option Name, go to the Option Name manager and create one.

After you type in the Option Value name, on the far right end of the
row, click Insert.

Second: Go to Attribute Controller

Select a Product from the drop down box

When it gets to the next page...

Scroll halfway down the page and select the Option Name from the first dropdown box, and the related Option Value from the second drop down box.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and insert the name of the File (or web page, or whatever) you want to download, or send them to, when payment is confirmed. The item must be in the ZenCart Download folder, or in a subfolder (use path to subfolder: /subfolder/pagename.php)

Change the number of days and number of download attempts if you want to, then click the Insert button... and cross your fingers.

When you get to the next page, scroll down halfway and look around, you should see the Product name and id, the Attribute name and details, and a Green Light that shows that the file has been found and all is well in the world.

That's it, you are now in business.

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It seems to me that this proceedure is backwards than what one might think.

I felt the same when trying to set up the Sales Tax. In other modules, like the Free Shipping Option if I recall correctly, you specify the Zone that the option applies to by first selecting a Country (USA) and then a State.

But to set up the Tax Zones and define them, you have to start with a city or state and then select a country. Seems illogical Mr. Spock.

We want to offer several Free Bonus Downloads with each of our products, anywhere from 2 to 8 audio files that range from 15 to 30 minutes or so for each file. At that length, we break them up.

It seemed very intimidating to come up with a dozen or more download packages using the standard attribute system.

We use a great program called DownLoad Guard (www.dlguard.com) to protect and deliver our audio and video downloads. We can go through PayPal, or other payment processors, or give them for free by using a Thank You page.

So what I did was to put the url to the Thank You page for one of the free download packages in a simple .txt page and upload it to the Download folder. Then I set a media type as .txt. I didn't see any instructions that said I could do this... but it worked. It wasn't pretty, and you have to copy and paste the url to get to the Thank You page, but it worked.

Then I got to thinking, if a .txt page works... why not an html page?

So I went back to my CuteSite Builder program (formerly Trellix - neither is available for sale anymore, unfortunately) and created an html page with the url and some nice looking type, and exported it as html to my hard drive and began thinking about how to upload it to the Download folder.

Obviously I don't know what I am doing. I know virtually nothing about html - CuteSite Builder takes care of it for me. To tell you how bad it is, a while back I read the book Web Pages for Dummies, and only understood 2 things in the whole book. I am way short of being up to Dummy level. :-(

Then I had another idea: Create a sub-folder inside the Download folder and publish my page to it. It worked!

The only glitch I had after that was in the correct form for the path, in the box where you put the name of the item to download. I had not start with a / - as in: /subfolder/pagename.htm

Now all I need to do to create more Free Bonus Audio Download packages is to go to DownLoad Guard and create a new item and type in the numbers of the files I want to include, save it, then go crete a Thank You page in CSB and insert the code from DLG that will be used to access the audio downloads.

Oops... did that make sense? Trust me... it is a lot simpler than setting up all of those items as Attributes.

Now if I can just figure out how to crete an attribute to give people the choice of CDs or mp3's on disc, at a different price, I will be so happy.

The biggest problem I have had, by far, is not understanding what the instructions mean. They are usually like a foreign language to me.

My first post on the forum, just a few days ago, was about an instructin dealing with the override system - and how to set up a different template. The instruciton talked about the "default path."

I found the - page? - that they referred to - about template_info.php or something like that, and there wasn't any path anywhere on the page. So I posted a question about it.

The answer acknowledged that it would be difficult to understand this for somebody who is not into it.

Duh! Forgive me, but if I understood this, I wouldn't need the forum in the first place. I have seen quite a few posts from other people who are just as confused as I am, and the answers often don't seem to even attempt to answer their question.

In answer to my second post, someone replied and asked if I had turned off my EZ pages.

I replied, how do I know? How do I turn them off? They finally told me, and sure enough, it solved the problem.

Again, it is one of those really confusing inconsistencies. When I set up Categories and Products, I just name the one I want to be at the top of the list 0. But if you use 0 for the position of an EZ page... guess what:

That turns it off.

It would also be great - and save newbies a lot of time - if there was an explanation - or disclaimer - or apology - or something on that first page in the Help seciton where you can read the most common questions and how to do all kinds of stuff - that nobody is going to answer any question that you submit there.

I submitted some questions. I saw questions that other people had submitted. No answers in sight.

Aside from being incredibly rude, imho, in inviting a brand new visitor to ask you questions and then just ignoring them completely, it wasted a lot of my time, when I kept struggling along on my own never realize that this forum was here. I found the forum by accident. And I signed up that same night, which is quite a compliment because this is the first forum I have ever joined or posted to.

There are some great people associated with the ZenCart, and some great resources, but they are incredibly hard to find.

I am a writer by trade (in case you haven't guessed by now) so if there is anything I can do to help you with your project of preparing good comprehensive and comprehensible information for new Zenners, just let me know and I'll be happy to help as much as I can. I'm kind of old and (thanks the the polio I had many years ago) I don't have much stamina so I am limited in how much I can do, but I'll sure do what I can.

Thanks.

ed

Quote:

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It would also be great - and save newbies a lot of time - if there was an explanation - or disclaimer - or apology - or something on that first page in the Help seciton where you can read the most common questions and how to do all kinds of stuff - that nobody is going to answer any question that you submit there.

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Good place to start is
https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php

I went there and actually looked around the glossary/index/ask a q sections for the first time, and didn't see a place where unanswered questions are displayed. Maybe you need to ask a question to see that?

If questions there really do tend to languish, maybe the "ask" function should be removed...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clydejones

Where? I looked and didn't see anything but one or two lines about adding a new category or subcategory and I must admit I didn't find them very useful.

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I've got to admit that I can't find what I was looking at last time, and I'm the first to moan about the search functionality on this forum - I've still not been able to figure out how to successfully search for a phrase - but to be quite frank, this part of Zen Cart is not rocket-science...if someone has the ability to actually login to admin, then it shouldn't be that difficult to work out (even from those few lines) how to add a product.

Can I just emphasise that the F in FAQ stands for frequently, so I could easily argue that when there is no information on a topic it's because it is not a frequently asked question, and it's not asked because it's so intuitive that hardly anyone else has needed to ask it over the past few years! :laugh:

However, there is now a step-by-step at How do I add a category, subcategory or product? which, looking at the date on that, may well have been added as a result of this thread.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ryk

I've got to admit that I can't find what I was looking at last time, and I'm the first to moan about the search functionality on this forum - I've still not been able to figure out how to successfully search for a phrase - but to be quite frank, this part of Zen Cart is not rocket-science...if someone has the ability to actually login to admin, then it shouldn't be that difficult to work out (even from those few lines) how to add a product.

Can I just emphasise that the F in FAQ stands for frequently, so I could easily argue that when there is no information on a topic it's because it is not a frequently asked question, and it's not asked because it's so intuitive that hardly anyone else has needed to ask it over the past few years! :laugh:

However, there is now a step-by-step at How do I add a category, subcategory or product? which, looking at the date on that, may well have been added as a result of this thread.

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Ryk,

I'd have to agree with you on this point. It is fairly easy to figure out.

You're right, I haven't seen that particular question being asked.

I added the the step by step in the tutorial/FAQ section.

Hi Ed,

Avlis said...

Quote:

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The answer acknowledged that it would be difficult to understand this for somebody who is not into it.

Duh! Forgive me, but if I understood this, I wouldn't need the forum in the first place....

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That's not quite right. Let me use myself as an example. I started using computers in 1985 and have been a geek ever since. I've done database design, user interface design, some programming, etc., etc. I long ago climbed the learning curve of HTML (I was on the internet before there was a world wide web). I also started up the CSS learning curve years ago, and was even present (very marginally, as an observer) during the birth throws of XML.

With all of that you'd think something like Zen Cart would be like breathing to me. Alas no, and for a very simple reason. It's someone else's code (lots of someones, which makes it even harder to get into). It's also someone else's way of using CSS, and their way of laying out pages, and file structures, and their way of designing the interface we users have to grasp in order to use the product.

In other words, despite my experience, I still faced a fairly long learning curve when I started with Zen Cart, and this forum has been a very important source of information for me throughout the process. I first started to set up a store, working a couple of hours a day most days back in late October last year. That first store wasn't ready for prime time until about 2 months ago. By contrast, my second store has taken only about 4 weeks to do. So it does get easier.

By the sounds of it, your learning curve will be steeper, in part because you've leaned on tools which have hidden the hard parts from you. (I was always the sort who lifted the hood and got my hands dirty, so I got a lot of the gory details figured out long ago.)

But whatever length your learning curve turns out to be, I can attest that you can count on an awful lot of support right here in the forum. And I can also attest that the effort is worth it. Zen Cart is an amazing product, and it's just getting better.

Hang in there. Express your frustrations from time to time -- we've all felt them. Ask specific questions in appropriate parts of the forum. And, oh yes, have as much fun as you can -- in between bouts of throwing things at the wall, that is.

Rob

P.S. Do you have THE BOOK?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gjh42

I went there and actually looked around the glossary/index/ask a q sections for the first time, and didn't see a place where unanswered questions are displayed. Maybe you need to ask a question to see that?

If questions there really do tend to languish, maybe the "ask" function should be removed...

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Oops, now I am doing what I have been complaining about.

After I asked a couple of questions and didn't get any response, I used the Comment option. I think it was on one of the tutorials about the override system, trying to understand how the folder is supposed to be named.

I clicked on the Comment button, and somebody had already asked the same question. It wasn't answered. So I asked it again.

I can't find that post now, so maybe I am still confused. I usually am. But I did find a post with 2 "comments" in the form of questions, unanswered:

https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/i...=36&op=comment

Yes, I would say remove the option to ask a question and refer people to this forum. I still have a hard time tracking down a link to the forum. It is not on the home page, or at least I can't find it. Why not have it on every page?

Also, someone suggested the new book. I'd love that... if I could read it. Unfortunately, after more than 6 days of overusing my eyes, they don't work right anymore. For some reason that my optomotirst and I don't understand, I do much better reading from a computer screen than from a printed page. I cannot even read a whole printed page anymore without my eyes hurting a great deal.

In fact, that was one of the questions I submitted: Is there a version of the book available that I can read on the computer screen? If so, I'd be interested.

However, I read somewhere - in this forum I think - that the book is a collection of all the things that have been posted here on the forum. If that's the case, I am not sure it would help all that much more than the forum.

What I need - remember, Web Pages for Dummies was way too advanced for me - are very simple, very specific step-by-step instructions. With consistent terminology. I was lookin at posts again last night about the override system and one post used at least 3 different names for the "custom" or "your-template-name" or "your-custom-folder" folder.

And please explain what initials and abbreviations mean when you use them.

If you are not a photogrpaher and you ask me a question and I tell you to open up a couple of stops, you won't know what I mean. If I say to process the film (does anybody use film anymore?) so you increase the gamma curve, you won't know what I mean. Compensate for reciprosity failure, etc.

If I were healthier, I'd love to work with somebody to produce a book for the ZenCart that gives that step-by-step proceedure for all of the wonderful features. It really is a fabulous program, and there are a lot of very nice and helpful people on the forum. So thanks for that, and if I have offended anybody, I wasn't trying to... just seems to come naturally to me. :-( I really want to help, so thanks.

Better and better

ed

Actually, the new book is exactly that step-by-step instruction set for everything you need to do to set up your store, with all the stock functional permutations. Definitely much more than a compilation of FAQs. It doesn't get into the customizing areas - that would have doubled the size of the book at least, and still left gaping holes. It's really too bad your eyes won't let you use it effectively.

Quote:

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Why not have it on every page?

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As has been explained before , to try to get people to read the Tutorial/FAQs before coming to the forum and asking for the umpteenth time "How do I remove the Sales Message Text goes here!" - and it worked!

Quote:

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Is there a version of the book available that I can read on the computer screen?

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No, and again, this is fully explained elsewhere.

Quote:

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However, I read somewhere - in this forum I think - that the book is a collection of all the things that have been posted here on the forum. If that's the case, I am not sure it would help all that much more than the forum.

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Yes - you did read that...but it was a question itself by someone who hadn't read it. Reviews are available on the publisher's site (and you can see my own here). One thing to consider, bearing in mind your difficulties, is that this book is a manual, and as such, you would most often just be needing to read a small amount at once to achieve your objectives.

Quote:

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one post used at least 3 different names for the "custom" or "your-template-name" or "your-custom-folder" folder.

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This will always be a problem in a forum environment, but I can assure you that the book is consistent!

Thank you for the information. That makes it a little hard to find answers about the 2 CheckOut payment module. One of the acronyms most people use when asking about it is 2CO.

With this 4 letter rule I will never be able to actually search for, or find, the discussions/solutions for installing the 2CO Module.

The person who wrote the 2CO module has not updated the README.txt for installing the new version, which I have been unsuccessful at doing.

2CO*

That also works on a search for those little stubby guys ... :cool:

Thanks. I don't always think to try the wildcards because a lot of search engines will not allow special characters. I'll give it a shot.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ajeh

2CO*

That also works on a search for those little stubby guys ... :cool:

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Great Idea!!! I am a newbie and have only read the first two lines of your post and want one!!!!

Thanks

https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/i...hp?category=16